In all the chaos of the few seconds when you see your target and you raise your bow to shoot, you have to clear your mind. Sweep everything away but three things: draw, bubble, pin. Of course the more you shoot and practice the more this becomes instinctive but, especially for the new hunter, when the time comes, the mind goes blank.
The more you can repeat it, make it into a mantra, teach your brain, the more you can rely on it when you need it. Draw. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing when an animal is looking right at you at twenty yards. When do you draw? How do you go about it without scaring it off? How do you know when that perfect opportunity is? You’ve been sitting there freezing for five hours, will your muscles fail you? Clear your mind. Don’t over think and remember to breath. Wait for them to move and move with them.
Once you’ve drawn, the fear of taking too long and losing them enters your head. You’re shaking, your heart is pounding and you have to focus. Force a deep breath through your nose and find your bubble. Let your breath out through your mouth and center the bubble.
Find your pin, place it on your mark and take another deep breath through your nose. Let your muscle memory find your center. Let the air out and soft release.
Each time you pull your bow you should be picturing your target. Not a piece of paper on a hay bale but the sweet spot of the elk. Let your pin figure eight on the center spot and teach your mind when to tell your finger to pull. Whether you fling five arrows or 150 in a session, shoot each one likes it’s THE one. The one that will cleanly and efficiently take down your target.
Archery and Camo 